Strategy fans, its time for you to get excited! Microsoft Studios has
released the title that drove us nuts when the first game came out. Age
of Empires III is upon us and once again I think that this game is going
to redefine the way that most of us will play real time strat games.

First
things first, this game looks amazing and most players will simply stare
at their screens in amazement at the gameworld that is waiting for them.
Every filter or effect that you can think of is in this game and the
sheer level of detail means that once you get over how good it all looks
you are going to be lost in this game, I can almost promise you that.

As
with other games in the series, the idea is to take over everything.
This is achieved by some of the most spectacular battles that you are
going to have in the confines of a real time strat world. Again, itís
the sheer realism of the game that is going to be telling you to dance
sucka! Itís simply the most incredible gameplay that Iíve had thus far
in this genre.

With a
break of about six years since the last Age of Empires you can tell that
this title is here for the long run with newsgroups slavering over the
new release. For long time players of the series, the main focus of the
title is still on the European nations with some action from mercenary
groups outside of that main sphere of influence.

Many
actions are simplified in this game which was something that I really
appreciated in terms of just getting in and enjoying the game instead of
fumbling around all the time. As you build your empire using the
available resources, your populace grows and you give them the skills
and facilities that they need to keep them happy and also in a position
that they are able to defend their own territories and also take over
others. That really is a simplified overview as you will manage on a
much, much grander scale.

As you
make your way through the game, you gain experience points and you then
get access to other shipping options through a series of cards that can
be won. This is a great idea and makes sure that you are progressing and
learning the intricacies of the game at a rate that serves as almost a
training of sorts for later in the title.

Finally you can take this game online and whilst we experienced this to
a certain extent, I far preferred the single player experience. This was
for one reason in particular. When playing a human opponent you could
only win if they surrender or if you kill every last member of their
group. So all that happens is that your friend can hide one person,
refuse to surrender and the game drags on!

In any
case that aside, Age of Empires III is amazing and is going to be a
title that you find yourself playing for a very long time. I give this
one a very high recommendation.